The aim of design education is that students learn to think and act like designers. However, the focus in the design studio is mainly on the design product, whereas the ‘why and how’ of the design process are barely addressed. A risk of learning by performing real-life tasks without addressing the skills involved, that is, without receiving appropriate support and guidance, is that learners are overwhelmed by the complexity of the tasks.
To make the design process explicit, a conceptual framework is developed in earlier research. This paper reports a first evaluation how articulation of basic designerly1 skills with the help of a conceptual tool is perceived by students and teachers and whether it changes students’ conceptions of the design process and their self-efficacy.
In two exploratory case studies, questionnaires give insight. The first is a short intervention in which student’s perception is measured. In the second case study the design process was addressed in the design studio. It measured changes in student’s conceptions and self- efficacy. Also, insight is provided in teacher’s perception of working with the framework.
The results of these exploratory studies indicate a positive effect. The teachers involved perceived the framework as a structuring factor during the tutoring sessions, for both teacher and students. Students did perceive explanation of the design process as being helpful. A change in students’ design conceptions and an increase in self-efficacy is seen.
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The purpose of the architectural design studio is that students learn to think and act like designers. However, communication between teachers and students seems to be problem- atic. Teachers barely seem to explain how designers work, which may be confusing for stu- dents. To learn professional reasoning processes and strategies, different teaching activi- ties are involved, such as modelling, coaching, scaffolding, reflection, exploration and artic- ulation. In the design studio it seems tradition that teachers only ask questions, while not articulating the design process.
This paper focuses on the research question of whether teachers in architectural design education articulate the main ‘designerly’ actions and skills, performed by expert design- ers, and if so, to what extent and in which manner? To answer these questions video-re- cordings of 13 tutorial sessions are analysed with the help of an educational framework of five generic elements. The framework consists of the basic design process actions and skills, and is specifically developed as a vocabulary for making the design process explicit and to train students in the design process elements. The main conclusion is that teachers refer to the design product in an implicit way. They leave it to the students to discover the structure and components of the design process more or less by themselves.@en